The genus Arctocephalus consists of the southern fur seals. Arctocephalus translates to "bear head."

Arctocephalus
New Zealand fur seal
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Clade: Pinnipedia
Family: Otariidae
Subfamily: Arctocephalinae
Genus: Arctocephalus
É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire & F. Cuvier in F. Cuvier, 1826
Type species
"Phoca ursina"[1]
Schreber, 1775
Species

Arctocephalus gazella
Arctocephalus townsendi
Arctocephalus philippii
Arctocephalus galapagoensis
Arctocephalus pusillus
Arctocephalus forsteri
Arctocephalus tropicalis
Arctocephalus australis

Synonyms
  • Arctophoca
  • Cynophoca

Taxonomy edit

The number of species within the genus has been questioned, primarily based on limited molecular data. The issue is complicated because some of the species are able to produce fertile hybrids. A recent review recommended the retention of seven species, deprecating the New Zealand fur seals to a subspecies of the South American fur seal, while also questioning the status of the Guadalupe fur seal.[2] Other recent studies have indicated the genus may be paraphyletic, and some taxonomic reshuffling was previously done to account for this; however, more recent studies support it being monophyletic, with the alleged paraphyly being a consequence of incomplete lineage sorting.[3][4]

Extant Species edit

Genus ArctocephalusÉ. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire & F. Cuvier, 1826 – eight species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Antarctic fur seal

 

Arctocephalus gazella
(Peters, 1875)
Subantarctic islands
 
Size: Male: 180 cm (71 in) long; 130–200 kg (287–441 lb)
Female: 120–140 cm (47–55 in) long; 22–50 kg (49–110 lb)[5]

Habitat: Neritic marine, oceanic marine, intertidal marine, and coastal marine[5]

Diet: Krill, cephalopods, fish, and penguins[5]
 LC 


700,000–1,000,000  

Guadalupe fur seal

 

Arctocephalus townsendi
(Merriam, 1897)

 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Juan Fernández fur seal

 

Arctocephalus philippii
(Peters, 1866)

 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Galápagos fur seal

 

Arctocephalus galapagoensis
(Heller, 1904)
Galápagos Islands
 
Size: Male: 150–160 cm (59–63 in) long; 60–68 kg (132–150 lb)
Female: 110–130 cm (43–51 in) long; 27–33 kg (60–73 lb)[6]

Habitat: Neritic marine, oceanic marine, intertidal marine, and coastal marine

Diet: Small squids and a variety of fish
 EN 


10,000  

Brown fur seal or Cape fur seal

 

Arctocephalus pusillus
(Schreber, 1775)

Three subspecies
  • A. p. pusillus (Cape/South African fur seal)
  • A. p. doriferus (Australian fur seal)
Southern African and Australian coasts (dark blue indicates breeding grounds)
 
Size: Male: 201–227 cm (79–89 in) long; 218–360 kg (481–794 lb)
Female: 136–171 cm (54–67 in) long; 41–113 kg (90–249 lb)[7]

Habitat: Neritic marine, oceanic marine, intertidal marine, and coastal marine

Diet: A wide variety of fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans, and sometimes African penguins and other seabirds
 LC 


1,060,000  

New Zealand fur seal

 

Arctocephalus forsteri
(Lesson, 1828)

 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Subantarctic fur seal

 

Arctocephalus tropicalis
(Gray, 1872)

 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


South American fur seal

 

Arctocephalus australis
(Zimmermann, 1783)

 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


References edit

  1. ^ Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ Berta, A.; Churchill, M. (2012). "Pinniped Taxonomy: evidence for species and subspecies". Mammal Review. 42 (3): 207–234. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2011.00193.x.
  3. ^ Yonezawa, T.; et al. (2009). "The monophyletic origin of sea lions and fur seals (Carnivora; Otariidae) in the Southern Hemisphere". Gene. 441 (1–2): 89–99. doi:10.1016/j.gene.2009.01.022. PMID 19254754.
  4. ^ Lopes, Fernando; Oliveira, Larissa R; Kessler, Amanda; Beux, Yago; Crespo, Enrique; Cárdenas-Alayza, Susana; Majluf, Patricia; Sepúlveda, Maritza; Brownell, Robert L; Franco-Trecu, Valentina; Páez-Rosas, Diego (2020-12-26). "Phylogenomic Discordance in the Eared Seals is best explained by Incomplete Lineage Sorting following Explosive Radiation in the Southern Hemisphere". Systematic Biology. 70 (4): 786–802. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syaa099. hdl:10923/20564. ISSN 1063-5157. PMID 33367817.
  5. ^ a b c Hofmeyr, G. J. G. (2016). "Arctocephalus gazella". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T2058A66993062. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T2058A66993062.en.
  6. ^ Trillmich, F. (2015). "Arctocephalus galapagoensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T2057A45223722. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T2057A45223722.en.
  7. ^ Hofmeyr, G. J. G. (2015). "Arctocephalus pusillus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T2060A45224212. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T2060A45224212.en.